Friday, 3 February 2012

Common Toads and Roads on the One Show!

On Wednesday evening (1st Feb) the One Show had a short feature about Common Toads and road crossings. It showed local ARG UK volunteers helping migrating toads to cross a road near Bath to reach their breeding site, a nearby lake. Go to the BBC iPlayer to watch the clip.

Common toads sometimes cross roads as they migrate to breeding ponds in the spring. Toads migrate en masse with waves of animals travelling from their hibernation grounds of woodlands and rough grassland to ponds, ditches and reservoirs to breed. This can be particularly problematic on new roads that have been built through migration routes; some roads have thousands of animals crossing and, inevitably, traffic can lead to the deaths of hundreds of common toads in a matter of nights.

Amphibian and Reptile Conservation is working with planners and highways engineers to ensure that requirement for amphibians feature early in the planning process for new roads. See our Common Toads and Roads leaflet for more detailed information.